Why does diabetes cause so many other complications? What does the blood sugar level have to do with eyesight and poor circulation to the point of amputation? Does someone who is careful to watch blood sugars still develop all the health complications that come with diabetes?

Answer:

Prolonged elevated blood glucoses have been proven to raise the risk of nephropathy, neuropathy, retinopathy, and circulatory problems (which can result in amputations). Some of it seems to be due to how long the blood glucoses are elevated, and some of it due to how high the blood glucoses actually are. There are also some other factors such as genetics, but as the results of the DCCT showed, the closer blood glucoses are to normal, the less likelihood there is of having significant complications, or if one already has some complications, the greater the chance of them not progressing.

Last Updated: Tuesday April 06, 2010 15:09:34
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